Hand To Hold
Word Count: 1071
Pairings: 10th Doctor x reader
Warnings: Angst, Possible trigger, fluff, mentions of anxiety
A/N: Feel free to drop me a request, and enjoy the story!
Summary: You were strong, and you were brave. You didn’t worry about being alone or feeling alone, but that was a lie, you did worry. Yet you told yourself you were going to be ok. The Doctor was always there when things started getting a little too much.
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“Y/N, where have you gone to this time?” The Doctor called.
He sighed as he walked down the many hallways of the TARDIS.
“Y/N! I will leave without you!” He warned.
He waited a moment but got no response.
“Ok, I won’t do that!” He relented.
He still got no answer, and he sighed, he started searching for you again.
“Why are there so many places you could be, in here. Maybe I should delete some rooms.” He grumbled.
After a few more minutes of searching he finally found you hidden away in the library your nose buried in an old book. You didn’t even look up when he cleared his throat. He raised an eyebrow at how enamoured you were, with whatever you were reading.
“Hmmm?” You barely acknowledge him being there.
“Y/N, it’s time to get going, we’re to miss every- are you even listening to me?”
You didnt look up from your book and the Doctor sighed. He knew why you were hiding in here but also knew you would never admit that you were scared. You were a strong willed girl and never admitted to being scared of anything.
“Y/N!”
You looked up from your book and just stared at him.
“What?”
He chuckled, plucking the book from your hands. You let out a muffled groan of protest. You tried to reach for the book, but he held it out of your reach.
“Doctor! Give it back!” You huffed.
He only smirked at your pouting. He fake pouted back at you and you shoved him playfully.
“Well come on! We’re going to that festival remember?”
Your smile fell a little and you gave him a weary look, as you remembered making those plans with him and nodded standing up. The Doctor noticed the panic in your eyes. He knew you were trying to act brave, but your eyes gave you away.
“Right, I forgot.” You said dismissively.
He knew you were going through the worse case scenarios in your mind. All the ways you could be separated from him or left on your own.
“We can stay in Y/N, I’m sure there are rooms you haven’t found yet.” The Doctor said.
You shook your head, you look a deep breath, turning to him.
“I can do this Doctor, don’t worry about me.”
He noticed you were still very nervous and held his hand out for you to take. You smiled back taking his hand without hesitation. The festival was much more crowded than you had anticipated. You had almost turned to run back into the TARDIS but the Doctor had already started pulling you towards the many stands in the city square. You panicked slightly but when he gave you an excited grin you swallowed down your fear. You ignored the fear eating at you. With the Doctor by your side though you were doing fine.
“We should try some of the food here! Something on a stick maybe, or fried this planet has amazing food.”
You smiled as you wandered around the alien market place listening to the Doctor intently. It was so vibrant and full of color here, and looked like nothing you had ever seen on Earth. As you slowly started to became more comfortable, you became the one to practically drag him everywhere. You took him to every stand, and every vendor, so enthralled by all the foreign objects. You were so enthusiastic about everything that he found your smiling to be contagious.
“Oh Doctor, look at this!”
You pointed to a beautiful painting sitting on an easel in one of the vendor’s stands.
“Are you interested in this Miss?” The alien woman asked kindly.
He watched as you talked with the native of the planet, laughing when you tried to negotiate the price. You laughed at something that was said. You had gotten so caught up in the conversation you had lost sight of the Doctor, who had unintentionally wandered off.
“Doctor?”
You should have expected as much, he was far too curious to stand still for that long. You felt your chest tighten as you scanned the crowd for him. Your panic began to rise and you took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. As ridiculous as it sounds you felt alone. You shook your head trying to think of something else.
'I can do this.’
You repeated to yourself, as you made your way through the crowd keeping an eye out for the spiky haired Timelord. It was harder than you thought it would be. Several of the aliens in the market asked if you needed help but you politely declined. You could do this on your own. You hoped.
“I need to put a bell on him.” You muttered to yourself.
Search as you might, you just couldn’t find him. You began to lose your focus the longer it took you to find him. Negative thoughts began to cloud your mind, and this time you couldn’t shake them. The fear of being alone despite such a large crowd, began to settle in your stomach. Your chest started tightening again and your breathing seemed to become uneven. You knew you should be looking for the Doctor but you were rooted to the spot. Fear seemed to make you freeze like a deer in headlights. Someone suddenly grabbed your hand and you turned your head to see the Doctor beside you.
“Are you ok Y/N?”
You smiled, despite your anxiety still making it slightly harder to breathe. You took a moment to respond your mouth dry.
“Yep, I’ll be alright.”
The Doctor smiled squeezing your hand reassuringly.
“Let’s go see the parade! Their going to let off fireworks there! They have dancing fireworks on this planet, they last much longer than the ones on Earth…”
You knew he was trying to distract you and you didn’t have any problem with that. The Doctor kept a hold of your hand as he rambled on, and you smiled as he pulled you along. He knew that at times you got overwhelmed and when it got a little too much for you he would grab your hand. It always seemed to calm you down, grounding you. It reminded you that he was right there and you always smiled so brightly when he did that. You gave his hand a little squeeze, like he had done earlier, and he looked back at you.
“Thank you, Doctor.”
